So long, Brady. Usually, when someone is the first to be voted out after the merge on Survivor, we say that we hardly knew them because it’s usually not until a few episodes after the merge that the castaways start to emerge as individuals as opposed to just tribemates. In the case of Brady, we might be tempted to say that we knew him too well.

Brad was the dominant player during the first half of the season. He was big and strong and he competed even after chopping off a piece of his thumb with a machete. He was exactly the type of player that you want on your tribe when you’re having to compete as a group because he was strong enough to carry you over the finish line. On the other hand, Brady was also kind of dumb and more than a little arrogant and his habit of constantly bragging about himself got to be a bit much to take. If I had been on his tribe, I would have started to make plans to vote him out as soon as I heard him refer to the other members of his alliance as being his “Bradys.” Brady didn’t seem to realize that being so dominant in challenges would make him a natural target once the merge happened. The same guy who leads your group to victory becomes a threat once you’re playing for individual immunity.

So, I’m not surprised that Brady was voted out. He wasn’t a strategic threat but he was definitely a physical threat. The other names that were tossed around after the immunity challenge — Kilby, Kristen, and Eric — don’t come across as if they’re going to be winning a lot of immunity challenges. It’s easy to look at them and say, “Well, we can vote them out whenever we feel like it.” With a player like Brady, you have to take your shot when you can.

Still, Mike was right when he told Jeff Probst that he was lucky to be wearing his immunity necklace. Mike has somehow managed to make it to the merge without establishing any single strong personal relationship with anyone else in the game. No one trusts him. Until he won the first individual immunity, everyone was planning on voting him out. Mike himself awkwardly tried to involve himself in Brady’s plan to vote out Eric and ended up alienating everyone, including Brady. (Brady was not smart enough to hide his irritation which led to Mike joining the majority to vote out Brady.)

Tribal was chaotic. It’s difficult to coordinate 13 people and it was clear that quite a few people went into tribal with no idea what the plan was. Some people thought the tribe was voting for Eric and some people thought the tribe was voting for Brady. The best part of Tribal, for me, was Lewis asking why everyone was talking so much and it is true that there are some people this season who are very much in love with the sound of their own voice. (Devin’s psychobabble gets worse with each episode.) Brady obviously loved the sound of his voice but we won’t be hearing it again until the final episode.

By a vote of 9-4, Brady became the first juror. Carter, Lewis, Thien An, and Brady all voted for Eric. Everyone else voted for Brady. Brady seems to be genuinely surprised that all of his Bradys voted for him. He shouldn’t have been.

This episode was entitled “I Love Crying.” I can’t really remember for sure who said the line. It sounds like something Devin would have said in an attempt to promote his own self-image of being some sort of benign guru. But I could also imagine Kilby saying it after Dina returned from Tribal Council.

There was a lot of crying in this episode. It started at the Dina tribe, with Eric sobbing while talking about how betrayed he felt by his “best friend” Kilby. It can sometimes be easy to forget when the show only airs once a week, but each episode of Survivor only covers two or three days of gameplay. So, Eric’s breakdown was over being betrayed by someone he had really only known for four days. According to his Survivor bio, Eric is a mental health professional.

Over at Toka, Maggie was crying because the rest of the tribe wasn’t as serious and humorless as she was. They made themselves a swing. She went to catch fish. Mike spent this episode worried that he was going to get voted out, but he shouldn’t have been worried—not as long as the Savu tribe consisted of only Devin, Jelly, and Ori.

It’s still difficult for me to believe just how completely the Savu tribe fell apart during the final part of the immunity challenge. They had been doing pretty well up until that point. Actually, now that I think about it, Ori was the one who had been doing well. He was the one who pulled over the puzzle pieces. He was the one who threw the beanbags that knocked all of the puzzle pieces to the ground. He was the one who, briefly, gave Savu a lead in the challenge. Then Jelly and Devin, both of whom regularly brag about their genius, spent the rest of the challenge staring at the puzzle pieces and trying to figure out how to put them back together. Admittedly, some people aren’t good at puzzles. I absolutely suck at puzzles, but I’m also willing to admit that. Devin has spent this entire game bragging about his abilities, but he’s yet to really back any of it up.

Before Tribal Council, Jelly secured her safety by telling Devin and Ori that she had an immunity idol. With Ori voting for Devin and Devin voting for Ori, it came down to Jelly’s decision, and there really wasn’t any doubt that she was going to stick with Devin. I, honestly, would have stuck with Ori because Ori can actually do things, but Jelly and Devin have an unbreakable bond. Ori gave up his vote to play his Shot in the Dark, which is one of those moves that I’ve only seen succeed once in the history of Survivor. As such, Ori was voted out of the game by a vote of 2-0.

Along with everything else, this episode also featured one of those terrible summit meetings. The three tribes sent one representative each to the summit. Ori, Sharonda, and Kristen met on the beach and were told that two would be able to take food back to their tribe and one would go to Exile Island. Sharonda and Ori both waited for Kristen to volunteer to go to Exile and, of course, that’s what Kristen did. Sharonda bragged about how she manipulated Kristen into giving up food, but to me, I don’t really get that strategy. Anyone who goes to Exile is going to have a chance to get an advantage. Manipulating Kristen into doing something that could be good for her game really isn’t something to brag about.

By going to Exile, Kristen got the tether idol, which means that she can give immunity to either Sharonda or Ori (whoops) up until the top five. However, if Sharonda and Ori are both voted out, it becomes a regular immunity idol. Ori is now gone, so all Kristen has to do now is hope that Sharonda follows.

Next week—the tribes merge! Oh, this is going to be a mess. There will be 7 former Toka members and 4 former Savu members on the tribe, along with Carter, who was a member of both tribes before the shakeup. It’ll be interesting to see who stays loyal to whom.

Lisa Marie

Last night, after Toka won immunity, both Savu and Dina went to Tribal Council. That’s right, we got two Tribal Councils. Only one of them was interesting, though.

The Savu Tribal Council was predictable. Yes, the show’s editors did their best to make us think that there was a chance that Jelly and Ori would blindside Devin and save Alexis. But the fact of the matter is that there was never any real possibility of either Ori or Jelly betraying the Helicopter Alliance. Though the show has kind of tiptoed around it, the Helicopter Alliance is an alliance that, much like Big Brother’s Cookout, is based primarily on race. Ever since the start of reality television, alliances are typically based on a common bond that all of the members share. The strength of the alliance usually mirrors the strength of the bond and the shared experiences that go along with it. Alliances that are based on race typically don’t break until they absolutely have to. So, no, it was not a shock to see Alexis voted out 3-1.

The Dina Tribal Council was a bit more interesting. Lewis and Kilby went into Tribal Council outnumbered by the former members of Savu, but they were still able to not only take over the entire council but also force the former Toka members to agree to unanimously vote out one of their stronger members. This was thanks to Maggie, who, instead of taking part in her tribe’s reward for winning immunity, was taken to another beach and given two extra votes that she could give to anyone she wanted. She gave the two votes to Lewis and Kilby.

At Tribal Council, while the former Savu members all voted for Lewis, Kilby and Lewis were able to cast four votes for Linnea and tie things up. (Maggie specifically asked them to vote for Linnea.) A revote revealed the vote to be 4-4. Jeff Probst told the tribe members who had not received votes that they would now have a chance to negotiate with each other and try to come up with a unanimous consensus on who was going home—Lewis or Linnea. If they couldn’t do that, Lewis and Linnea would be safe and the remaining tribe members would draw rocks to determine who was being sent home.

Despite having three former Savus ganging up on him, Kilby held firm. Obviously, he understood that, if he joined the former Savu members, he would always be at the bottom of their alliance. Soon, the former Savus were sobbing over the prospect of having to draw rocks. Kilby had the courage to risk his game on a rock draw. The other members of Savu did not. They agreed to vote out Linnea so that they wouldn’t have to go to rocks. What a bunch of wimps! Watching Eric cry, I suddenly realized that Rob was right about the guy.

Oh, what a pathetic display. Now, the big question is whether or not next week will feature another tribal shakeup or if the new Savu tribe will continue with just three players. If Savu goes to Tribal Council again, this will be the first time that the Helicopter Alliance will lose one of their own. I’m just looking forward to seeing how awkward things are going to be over at Dina when they all get back from Tribal Council.

And then there were three.

For all the time the show spent teasing us that there was going to be an extremely early merge, last night instead turned out to be a tribal swap. The two big tribes became—sigh—three very small tribes. I know that Jeff Probst loves the three-tribe idea almost as much as he loves the idea of having a hundred different idols in the game at once. Myself, I can’t stand the three-tribe thing because, inevitably, one tribe is always extremely weaker than the other two, and the smaller tribes make it easier for bullies to survive. Three bullies on a tribe of ten are a nuisance. Three bullies on a tribe of five are a majority. We discovered that last night when Jenna was finally voted out and Devin flashed his big smile.

Here are the new tribes:

SAVU:

1. Jenna (Formerly of Toka)
2. Ori (Savu)
3. Alexis (Savu)
4. Jelly (Formerly of Toka)
5. Devin (Formerly of Toka)

DINA:

1. Linnea (Formerly of Savu)
2. Christian (Formerly of Savu)
3. Sharonda (Formerly of Savu)
4. Lewis (Formerly of Toka)
5. Kilby (Formerly of Toka)
6. Eric (Formerly of Savu)

TOKA:

1. Brady (Toka)
2. Kristin (Formerly of Savu)
3. Carter (Savu/Toka)
4. Maggie (Toka)
5. Thien Ann (Toka)
6. Mike (Toka)

On the new Toka tribe, Kristin went out of her way to try to make herself useful and came across as being a bit of a know-it-all. However, that appears to have impressed Brady, who is a bit of a know-nothing.

On the Dina tribe, I have to admit that I was pretty worried about Lewis, who spent most of this episode dealing with a sudden illness. However, the main thing that happened on Dina was the sudden bromance between Eric and Kilby. It turns out that they’re both equally annoying! And they’re both into improv! Who would have guessed (other than everyone)? That said, Eric is coming on a bit strong and Kilby doesn’t strike me as being the most loyal guy on the island.

Finally, on the new Savu, Devin, Ori, and Jelly had a majority because they’re all members of the Helicopter Alliance. The minute they lost immunity, it was pretty obvious that Jenna was going to get voted out. The only person surprised by it was Jenna. There was really no reason to vote out Jenna, beyond the fact that Devin was too stupid to accept that she’s a wedding photographer.

As far as Devin goes, it’s hard to think of a more worthless player. He’s condescending. He’s rude. He thinks he’s a badass, but whenever his tribe goes to tribal council, it’s largely because of his own piss-poor leadership skills and the fact that he sucks in competitions. Devin’s an actor and, as such, he’s always on and he comes across as being very fake. And yet somehow, he’s become a leader. My hope is that the show’s editors are setting Devin up for a big fall because I really don’t want to sit through an entire season just to see this preening jerk end up in the final three. Then again, it would be satisfying to see him get eliminated due to a firemaking challenge.

And that’s it for this week!

Throughout the history of Survivor, there have been plenty of people who had to leave the show because they had a genuine medical emergency. They’ve either seriously injured themselves while competing, fallen victim to malnutrition, or developed an infection of some sort while living on the beach. It’s never enjoyable to see someone eliminated for that sort of reason, though we are all glad that the show has a medical team on hand to look after the players.

Then there are the players who pretend to be ill to get off the show so they won’t be voted out. The prime example of this was Colton, who Jeff Probst has always claimed faked having appendicitis to get out of One World. (Colton, for the record, swears that he actually had a severe bacterial infection that felt like appendicitis.) This week, we got the most blatant example yet of a player faking an injury when Rob announced that he had to quit the game because his foot hurt.

The medical team was brought in to look at his foot. We were given a close-up of his foot while it was being examined, and I can say that it did not appear to be injured in any way. There were no bruises. There was no swelling. As a former dancer, I know a little bit about ankle and toe injuries, and Rob… well, I don’t want to call him a liar. If he was in pain, it was probably due to stress. Considering that Brady competed in an immunity challenge after chopping off a piece of his thumb and Kristen has a broken foot, it was hard to have much sympathy for Rob’s declaration that his foot pain made it impossible for him to continue in the game.

Rob, who started out so gung-ho and so determined to run the game, left the Savu tribe at the beginning of this episode. Most of the Savu Tribe suspected that he left not because of his foot but because he was on the wrong side of the cote at Tribal and his bizarre mid-council conversation with Eric didn’t work out the way that he thought it would. Rob left his immunity idol to Carter, who started this episode at the bottom of the totem pole with his tribe. However, Carter then left the Savu tribe when he was given an opportunity to visit the Toka tribe, search for a hidden advantage at their camp, and join their tribe if he felt like it. Carter didn’t find the hidden advantage, largely because the Savu tribe went through his bag and found the information about the hidden advantage while Carter was having a one-on-one conversation with Mike. Brady and Maggie were the ones who found the advantage, which turned out to be an extra vote at tribal. Carter, however, still decided to mutiny and join the Toka tribe.

Meanwhile, Devin volunteered to visit the Savu tribe. Devin did not mutiny because he felt that their shelter was not up to his standards. He did reconnect with Sharonda and Ori, with whom he made an alliance during the initial helicopter ride to the island. With Sharonda’s help, Devin found the hidden advantage. He also told everyone at the Savu tribe that Kilby could not be trusted.

Toka entered the immunity challenge with 11 members. Savu only had seven, but Savu still managed to win not just immunity but also four hens. The main reason Toka lost was because Savu had to sit out four people and Devin took it upon himself to tell Kilby that he wasn’t allowed to play, despite the fact that Kilby solves puzzles for a living.

At tribal, Devin, Brady, Patt, Jelly, and Mike were all determined to vote out Kilby. Devin felt he couldn’t trust Kilby. Brady was mad because he felt Kilby had insinuated that he was stupid. Kilby, however, was able to convince his allies — Jenna, Maggie, and Thien Ann — to join him in voting for Patt. Lewis and Carter, the two new members of the tribe, decided to join with Kilby, and Patt was voted out by a vote of 6-5.

I actually liked Patt. She reminded me of my best friend. But Brady and Devin have both been so smug that it was nice seeing them get blindsided. Devin, in particular, needs to get a grip and stop being so cocky. Brady can be a jerk, but he’s important to have around if you want to win challenges. I’m not sure what Devin really brings to the tribe beyond his own attitude.

For those keeping track of advantages: Carter has an immunity idol. Jelly has an immunity idol. Maggie has an extra vote. Devin has an extra vote. And there’s still an immunity idol sitting on Exile Island.

Next week — could it already be time for a merge? Or are they reshuffling the tribes? We’ll find out!